Game piece with visually distinguishable playing symbols



Dec. 2, 1969 M. J- J, SUGDEN GAME PIECE WITH VISUALLY DISTINGUISHABLEPLAYING SYMBOLS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 5, 1967 I N VEN TOR.

MARTIN JAMES JAFFREY SUGDEN Dec. 2, 1969 M. J. J. SUGDEN 3,481,603

GAME PIECE WITH VISUALLY DISTINGUISHABLE PLAYING SYMBOLS Filed July 5,1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. MARTIN JAMES BY JAFFREY SUGDEN 7% 3M6,,1 Pam United States Patent 3,481,603 GAME PIECE WITH VISUALLYDISTINGUISH- ABLE PLAYING SYMBOLS Martin James Jalfrey Sugden, 29 VeeryPlace, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada Filed July 3, 1967, Ser. No. 650,766Claims priority, application Canada, July 6, 1966,

964,747 Int. Cl. A63f 3/00; A63h 33/08 US. Cl. 273-130 Claims ABSTRACTOF THE DISCLOSURE A three-dimensional tic-tac-toe game, havingrectangular transparent game pieces each having two diiferently colouredplaying symbols spaced along its length, one for each player. A playerputting a game piece in play therefore positions, not only his ownsymbol, but also his opponents. In one embodiment, the game pieces arethin and cooperate with a game board having transparent shelves, theplaying symbols being pegs coloured differently from each other andinsertable into holes in the shelves. Alternatively the pegs may becarried by the board and received in holes in the thin game pieces, adifferent colour being associated with each hole. In another embodiment,the game pieces are elongated members of square cross section and arestacked on their ends or sides on an ordinary fiat surface, no gameboard being needed.

This invention relates to a game piece and to a game to be playedtherewith. More particularly, it relates to an improved game piecesuitable for playing a three-dimensional version of tic-tac-toe, and tosuch game piece in cooperation with a playing board therefor.

A number of approaches are possible in attempting to create athree-dimensional game of tic-tac-toe. A typical approach may involve athree layer array of shelves each having a three by three grid ofmarkings, on which opaque game pieces of a duality of shapes or coloursare to be deposited in their proper places in an effort by each playerto be first to obtain (or not to obtain, as the case may be) a row ofthree like pieces in any direction.

However, such a 3 X 3 X 3 array requires 27 individual game pieces,while a more challenging 4 X 4 X 4 array requires 64 game pieces. Thepieces must necessarily be relatively small in relation to the gameboard if they are to be seen properly in relation to one another andwithout obscuring the various game piece positions from the eyes of theplayers. The handling of such a number of necessarily small opaqueobjects and their placement upon a game board shelf tend to be tediousand difficult. The number of these small objects, typically spherical orcylindrical in shape, is constantly subject to decimation as the piecesroll off tables, under furniture, etc., as well as sufiering the usualcareless moving about by children.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a new game piece more easilyhandled than game pieces of the type discussed and which, because of itsnature, which will be described shortly, reduces by a factor of at leasttwo the number of game pieces required to play the game. In addition,game pieces according to the present invention add an additional subtlecomplexity to the game since, as will be described, each move made byeither player (in the case of a two player game) will contribute to thegame structure a move by that players playing symbol and a move by theother players playing symbol.

A typical game piece according to the present invention is an elongatedrectangular member, of length equal to twice its width, and with twospaced playing symbols along its length, one symbol being diiferent fromthe other and each symbol being associated with one player. Thus, whenone player makes a move by putting a game piece in play and therebypositioning his symbol, he simultaneously further advances the game bypositioning his opponents symbol. In one embodiment of the invention,the game pieces cooperate with a game board having transparent stackedshelves, with a pair of differently coloured pegs in the game pieces(one player uses the pegs of one colour; the other player uses the othercolour pegs) cooperating with holes in the game board shelves. Inanother embodiment, no game board is used, and the game pieces, whichmay typically be one inch by one inch, by two inches in length, aresimply stacked or arranged as desired.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will appear from thefollowing description, taken together with the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating game pieces in position on agame board according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side view showing a game piece according to the presentinvention;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a modified game piece and a portion of amodified game board according to the invention;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of another embodiment of a game piece and aportion of a game board according to the invention;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a further embodiment of a game pieceaccording to the invention;

FIG. 6 is a plan View of a portion of a further modified game board;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing another game piece according to thepresent invention;

FIG. 8 is an end view of the game piece of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 shows the initial stages of a typical game using game pieces ofthe type shown in FIG. 7; and

FIG. 10 shows an insert member, containing coloured beads, for use inthe game piece of FIG. 7.

Reference is first made to FIGS. 1 and 2, where there are shown aplurality of game pieces 2, each such game piece being an elongatedrectangular member preferably having a length L equal to twice its widthW. Each game piece 2 is preferably made of clear glass or transparentplastic and has a longitudinal central axis shown in dotted lines at 4,along which are located two spaced pins or pegs 6 and 8, respectively.The pegs 6 and 8 each project a short distance from either side of thegame piece 2, as best shown in FIG. 2, and the centre of each peg isspaced from the end of the game piece 2 most closely adjacent such pegby a distance equal to one quarter of the length L. The distance betweenthe centres of pegs 6 and 8, denoted by dimension D, is thus equal toone half of length L.

The pegs 6 and 8 are preferably of coloured plastic, the pegs 6 allbeing of one colour and the pegs 8 all being of a diiferent colour. Forexample, the pegs 6 may be red and the pegs 8 may be yellow. In a samplegame made in accordance with the present invention, the pegs 6 and 8were constituted simply by short cylindrical sections cut from red andyellow plastic knitting needles, respectively, the cut sections beinginserted in holes drilled in the body of the game piece 2 and held inplace by friction or glue.

Cooperating with the game pieces 2 is a board generally indicated at 10and including three shelves 12, 14 and 16, each of transparent plasticand each containing a 3 x 3 square grid of holes 18. Each hole 18 is ofa size to receive the pegs 6 and 8 of the game piece 2, the distancebetween the centres of holes 18 in directions parallel to the edges ofthe shelves being equal to distance D in order that the game pieces 2may be fitted on the shelves 12, 14, 16 in the positions shown. Theshelves are supported in parallel stacked relation by four corner posts20 which may be permanently connected to the shelves. A1- ternatively,the corner posts 20 may be detachably connected to the shelves 12, 14and 16 by any suitable means, so that the game board may be disassembledwhen not 1n use.

During play, each player chooses one colour as his own, and attempts toobtain, or not to obtain, a selected geometrical configuration, e.g.,three pegs of his colour in a row. As may be seen, each move made byeither player contributes to the game structure (i.e., to the progressof the game) a peg of that players own colour and a peg of the opponentscolour simultaneously, so that each player, in attempting to obtain (ornot to obtain) a row of three pegs of his colour, will be constrained toplace one end of the game piece (containing his colour peg) in theposition most advantageous to his goal, and to place the other end ofthe game piece (containing the peg of his opponents colour) in aposition most disadvantageous to his opponents goal. This adds anadditional interesting complexity to the game, and in addition itreduces both the number of game pieces required to play the game and thenumber of moves necessary to complete a game.

Moreover, the handling qualities of a game piece of such dimensions asto contain two pegs spaced suitably apart are much enhanced over thoseof a smaller game piece containing only one peg. The game pieceaccording to the present invention is of sufficient weight and of suchrelative size that it is more comfortably handled and less easily lostthan twice the number of tiny pegs or spheres which may easily slipthrough the fingers and provoke annoyance, and in addition the gamepiece has alternative uses as a building block.

Further, the engagement of the protruding pegs 6 and 8 with the holes 18in the game board shelves permits the tilting of the game board to anangle of nearly 90 before the game pieces fall away from the game board.This tilting permits movement of the game board by the players so thatthey can see completely through the structure from various angles forthe purposes of determining the disposition of the various game piecesand thus the progress of the game.

It will be appreciated that the game piece and board just described areexemplary only, and numerous modifications may be made in both withinthe scope of the present invention. For example, instead of holes in thegame board 10 and cooperating pegs in the game pieces 2, there may beprovided pegs in the game board and cooperating holes in the game pieces2. Such a structure is shown in FIG. 3, where a game piece 2' is shownprovided with a pair of spaced holes 22 and 24 in locationscorresponding to those of pegs 6 and 8, and a game board 10" includesshelves such as shelf 14 having pegs 26 spaced to cooperate with theholes 22 and 24. In a structure such as that shown in FIG. 3, the pegs26 of the game board will all be clear or of the same colour and indiciawill be provided to distinguish the holes 22 and 24 from each other. Forexample, a ring 28 of one colour may be provided around the hole 22 anda ring 30 of a second and different colour may be provided around thehole 24, so that holes of one colour will be associated with one playerand holes of the other colour will be associated with the other play-Although it is preferred that the game pieces and game board be oftransparent material, and that the indicia differentiating the two pegs(or holes) on each game piece be constituted by a pair of differentcolours, other arrangements may be used. For example, other indiciacould be used to distinguish between the two pegs (or holes) on 4 eachgame piece, e.g., a numeral 1 could be used for one peg or hole on thegame piece and the numeral 2 for the other peg or hole on the gamepiece.

Although it is preferred that cooperating pegs and holes be used asmating devices to connect the game pieces 2 to the playing board 10, itwill be appreciated that projections of various shapes may be employedon the game pieces 2 (or board 10) with correspondingly shapeddepressions or apertures in the board 10 (or playing piece 2). Forexample, either conical or semispherical projections from the game piece2 could be provided in place of pegs 6 and 8, with correspondinglyshaped apertures in the shelves of the board 10. Alternatively, the gamemay be built with no cooperating projections and indentations at all,the game pieces 2 merely having two differentiated spots, e.g., a redspot and a yellow spot, corresponding to the pegs 6 and 8, and theshelves of the board 10 having a plurality of spots, e.g., black spots,marking the locations with which the coloured spots are to cooperate.Such an arrangement would of course be more difficult to use in play,since the game pieces would tend not to remain in position and since thegame board with the game piece in place could not be tilted tofacilitate inspection of the progress of the game.

If desired, the arrangement of FIG. 4 may be used. In FIG. 4 there isshown a clear plastic game piece 2" bearing two coloured spots 32 and34, each of these spots being of a different colour. These spotscooperate with black spots 36 on a shelf 14" of game board 10". Matingmeans are provided to connect the game piece 2" to the shelf 14" but thefunctions of the mating means and playing spots have now beendifferentiated. In the device of FIG. 4, the mating means comprise apair of clear plastic pegs 38 projecting from opposite ends of the gamepiece 2" and cooperating with a plurality of apertures 40 in the shelf14".

If three people are to play the game, two methods of approach arepossible. In the first method, a single game piece 2" may be providedwith three coloured pegs (or holes) 42, 44 and 46, as shown in FIG. 5.Each of these pegs will be of a different colour and one colour will beassociated with each player, e.g., red for the first player, yellow forthe second player, and blue for the third player. Enough holes will beprovided in the shelves of the game board to accommodate a plurality ofgame pieces 2". In the second approach, a structure such as that shownin FIGS. 1 to 4 may be employed, but three sets of game pieces areprovided, namely, game pieces with pegs (or holes or spots) of first andsecond colours, game pieces with first and third colours, and gamepieces with second and third colours. As before, one colour isassociated with each player. Therefore when a players turn to make amove arrives, he will select a game piece containing a peg (or hole orspot) of his colour, but he will have a choice at this time as to whichopponents colour to select.

A characteristic of the game is that spaces may develop which cannot befilled later due to the arrangement of game pieces on a shelf. Such aspace appears at the forward right hand corner of upper shelf 12 inFIG. 1. This characteristic, which adds to some extent to the complexityof strategy of play, is due to the fact that the game pieces are doublegame pieces, instead of single game pieces.

Although the game pieces have all been shown as elongated rectangularmembers, other shapes, e.g., ellipses, may be used for the game pieces.In fact, square game pieces may also be used, but in that case, adifferent type of grid would have to be employed on the shelves of theplaying board. In the grid of FIG. 1, the holes 18 may be considered asbeing located at the intersections defined by one set of equally spacedparallel lines meeting at right angles another set of equally spacedparallel lines. With a square game piece, the spacing of one set of suchlines would be greater than that of the other set, as shown for holes180 in shelf 140 of FIG. 6, and, of course, the character of the gamewould also be somewhat different. In addition, although the geometricalconfiguration described'as being the object of the game to achieve ornot to achieve has been three game board holes or markings in a .row,other configurations, e.'g., and L shaped configuration, may be selectedinstead- Reference is next made to the embodiment of FIGS. 7 'to:10,where a game piece 50 that needs no game board is illustrated. The gamepiece 50, as viewed from above, is of the same rectangular shape as gamepiece 2, but is of height h equal to its width W. Typical dimensionsforheight h,width W, and length L are 1 inch, 1 inch and 2 inches,respectively. The ends 52, 54 of the game piece 50 are open, and thewall 535 of, the game piece is made of a simple sheet of plastic,typically about inch in thickness. I

Positioned along the central longitudinal axis of the game piece 50 area pair of differently coloured indicia 58, 60. The indicia 58, 60 maytypically be 4 inch diameter glass or plastic beads, strung betweenopposite edges 62, 64 of the game piece on nylon thread 66 glued orotherwise fastened to the wall 56. Thethread 66 runs from one edge,e.g., edge 62, of the game piece, passes through a hole in the centre ofa bead, loops around part of the outer surface of the bead as shown at68 to re-enter the hole in the bead, passes through the bead again, andcontinues on to the opposite edge 64 of the game piece. The loop 6t}holds the bead in position on the thread.

With the game pieces 50, play is similar to that with the game pieces 2,except that no playing board is needed. The game pieces are simplystacked as desired on any flat surface, as shown in FIG. 9, whichillustrates the initial stages of a typical game. The object'of'thegame, as before, will usually be for a player to line up three beads ofhis colour in a row. Rules that may be adopted to improve the game arethat (a) no player can win if he aligns three of his beads and threeofhis opponents beads in a row at the same time, (b) no overhangs arepermitted (an overhang occurs when a game piece is partly supported byanother game piece but partly juts out into space).

Various methods may be adopted for holding the beads 58, 60 along thecentral longitudinal axis of the game piece 50, as alternatives to thethread approach illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8. For example, as shown inFIG. 10, the beads 58, 60 may be mountedin a thin transparent sheet 70.The sheet 70 will then be attached diagonally inside the game piece 50,between the edges 62, 64.

The game piece 50 could, if desired, be made of solid plastic, with theindicia constituted either by coloured beads im'bedded in the plastic orby coloured voids in the plastic. However, when the game piece 50 is ofsolid construction, it may be difi'lcult at times to see the playersindicia (because of light refraction), and therefore the thin-walledopen ended construction shown is preferred.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. A three-dimensional tic-tac-toe game apparatus comprising: a'flattransparent sheet, and a plurality of game pieces for placement on saidsheet,'each game piece comprising:

(a) a thin, solid elongated body member having top and bottom opposedrectangular faces of length substantially equal to twice their width,said top face having a longitudinal axis of symmetry extending thelength thereof,

(b) said body member being made of transparent material,

(c) two discrete playing symbols in said top face and spaced apart alongsaid axis, each being spaced from the end of said body membei: by adistance substantially equal to one quarter of the length of said bodymember, and one of said playing symbols being of different appearancefrom the other,

(d) and a pair of first mating devices located in said bottom face eachdirectly below a respective playing symbol in said top face, and saidtransparent sheet having a plurality of second mating devices arrangedin rows and columns defining a series of squares, the distance betweenadjacent second mating devices along said rows and columns being equalto the distance between said playing symbols, said first and secondmating devices being adapted to interengage when a said game piece isplaced on said sheet to prevent said game piece from sliding on saidsheet.

2. A game apparatus according to claim 1 wherein one of said playingsymbols is of a different colour from the other of said playing symbols,said difference in appearance of said playing symbols being provided bysaid difference in colour.

3. A game apparatus according to claim 2 wherein said first matingdevices are formed by a pair of parallel pegs, said body member havingthrough openings extending perpendicularly between said top and bottomfaces and said pegs being disposed in said through openings andprojecting perpendicularly from said bottom face, said second matingdevices being apertures in said sheet to receive said pegs, the tops ofsaid pegs being coloured differently from each other to constitute saidplaying symbols and being positioned in said openings to be visible fromthe top of said game piece, said different coloring providing saiddifferent appearance.

4. A game apparatus according to claim 3 wherein said pegs project equaldistances from said top and bottom faces, the lower projecting portionsbeing differently colored so that the projections from either of saidtop and bottom faces may be used as playing symbols and the projectionsfrom the other of said top and bottom faces may be used as matingdevices,

5, A game apparatus according to claim 2 wherein said second matingdevices are formed by parallel pegs projecting vertically upwardly fromsaid sheet, and said first mating devices comprise apertures in saidbody mem ber to accommodate said pegs, said differently coloured playingsymbols being a pair of coloured markings one associated with each ofsaid apertures so that one aperture may be distinguished visually fromthe other.

6. A game piece for a three-dimensional game of tictac-toe, said gamepiece comprising:

(a) an elongated body member of transparent material, said body memberhaving four rectangular side faces each of the same length and width,said body member being of square cross section and having square ends,so that it may be disposed on any of said sides or on either of saidends, said member hav-' ing a longitudinal axis of symmetry between saidends,

(b) and two discrete playing symbols within said body member and betweensaid faces, said playing symbols being different in appearance from eachother and being spaced apart along said axis, said symbols being visiblefrom all sides of said body member.

7. A game piece according to claim 6 wherein said side faces are formedof thin transparent material, the interior of said body member beingsubstantially open between said side faces, said playing symbols beingbodies of maximum dimension substantially less than the distance betweensaid side faces, and means supporting said bodies between said faces.

8. A game piece according to claim 7 wherein said bodies are ofdifferent colours and each is substantially centered within the interiorof said body member relative to said side faces, said difference inappearance of said playing symbols being provided by the difference incolour of said bodies.

9. A game piece according to claim 8 wherein said bodies are sphericalin form.

7 8 10. A game piece according to claim 8 wherein the FOREIGN PATENTSlength of said side faces is equal to twice their width. 1,116,5392/1956 France References Cited 1,262,617 4/1961 France.

667,737 3/1952 Great Britain.

UNITED STATES PATENTS 5 DELBERT B. LOWE, Primary Examiner 2,313,4733/1943 Heacock et al. 273-13O 2,676,018 4/1954 Cornish et a1. 273-130US. Cl. X.R. 2,873,976 2/1959 Alatorre 273-137 46 25; 273 137 2,940,7606/1960 Brinkman 273-130

